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Stage 1 with Manual Mode. Reset Adaptations upon install.
I can feel the firmer shifts and higher line pressure is apparent.
The downshifts are jerky however. Im hoping they smooth out as the TCU adapts. Not sure what the new “A” mode is. No instructions came with TCU.
Also think I may have a 2-3 shift issue as tranny has been stumbling in the 2-3 upshift since my trans service.
will continue to drive and let it adapt. May have valve body professionally rebuilt and add blue top solenoids when its header install time. Need to find another CL or S to drive to compare
Daily driving the car. I think I need to rebuild my valve body. The tranny slams into gears after it warms up. Agility mode is the most comfortable and responsive however. Will dig deeper when I get back from vacation in July.
Dension GW52M01 Will be placing my order from Enfig when I get back. Glad I could finally talk to someone on the phone and they knew what they were talking about.
Also, if anyone has a solution for repairing the door panels on a CL, please advise. My seat control panels are loose and it seems that this is a common issue. Will take off door panels when I return and see if theres some plastic welding that can be done but im sure its been covered before.
Im taking the car to Modern Masters in WV on Monday for them to have a preliminary look around the car and to see what it would cost to have them burn through my to-do list so I can concentrate my efforts on my ZR-1.
Headers arrived while I was gone! They looms sweet!
Headed to the Pittsburg Vintage Grand Prix this Sunday to park with the Mercedes Club on Sunday and do a parade lap around the course. Wish me luck on the 8 hour round trip!
Drove the CL to Pittsburgh yesterday for the Pittsburgh Grand Prix!
Was a relatively uneventful drive. Comfy and fast. Met up with The Conforti Brothers and got an eye full of some amazing machines. Great guys and really looking forward to seeing their dealership when its complete!
About an 8 hour round trip. Got home safe and sound around 7:30pm. Had a trunk full of tools and spare parts. Had replaced the serpentine belt a couple days before the trip and figured Id have the spare with me. Jump box for the battery, etc
I had scheduled an inspection for today with Modern Masters in WV. Head over there after work and met with Craig and Rusty.
Amazing machines at the shop. You can tell, they know their way around these cars.
Rusty starts poking around and tells me that my serpentine belt was partially missing!!! Guess it was something I did while installing it. Almost NEEDED those spare parts/tools I was lugging with me lol
Rusty was kind enough to replace the belt, and i was lucky that they had an extra Green HD belt on hand.
We put a plan together for getting the car to the next level. Im gonna be dropping off my headers to them later this week so they can get ceramic coated and will schedule time to have them go through the car.
We did discover the need for a few things that were not on my radar.
Transmission shift linkage bushings
Water Pump Pulley has play
Idle is a little rough so they suggested intake gaskets. And “while we’re in there” it looks like im upgrading to a 92mm Hellcat throttle body
Very happy with the results. Cant wait to drive her home.
Last minute polish needed. A catch can needs to be plumbed in while its there and the team at Modern Masters suggested we replace the starter as it kept giving them some metal on metal music.
Test drove the car today. Runs amazing and couldnt be happier with the work performed.
Catch can has been installed. Was ready to pick it up but upon starting the car to move it out of shop, the starter FCP sent started spinning and it wouldnt stop. Faulty starter. FCP is shipping a replacement out but it still sucks.
Apparently they sell reman starters. At least theres a warranty but does it matter if I may end up stranded somewhere?
Will get the car home and see if I dont buy a new OEM starter to swap in.
Notes from test drive: She is fast! Sounds good but not as aggressive as I thought it would/should. Wondering if C63 mufflers would work on this platform?
Next step in the upgrade path is an E85 kit and a secondary heat exchanger. Will be done by Modern Masters when the time is right.
Very happy with my experience with them and would recommend them to anyone looking for quality work!
AAA supplied the tow back home. Great service as usual.
In classic AMG form, the check engine light appeared first thing in the morning
Cold start on cold mornings… ordered new front O2 sensors. The MAP sensor i’ll have to monitor. Modern Masters said they always replace those whenever they take a blower off since its a pain to get to when they fail.
Car drives great though!! Intake temps stay approx 20 degrees from ambient when cruising.
MK Ultra SLR TCU tune is amazing!
Really need to find time to install my bluetooth adaptor now
ScanGauge 3 installed and monitoring things nicely.
Been putting some miles on the CL lately. Almost at 140k
when she rips, SHE RIPS!!! But driving to and from work and running errands are a pleasure also.
never one to leave well enough alone…. I ordered a VRP Gen4 Whipple for the car 🥳
I figure, the Gen4 is being discontinued.
The Gen5 will be double the cost.
The weak point of the M113k is the blower.
Gen4 is 50lbs lighter.
its going to look and sound bad ***!!!
i’ll likely always have a M113k car in the garage.
Looks like I got one of the last units also. Installation probably wont happen for a while but at least it’ll be here and I can start collecting other supporting parts as sales pop up.
i did reach out to Fluid Autounion near Chicago about an intake. They are making one for the “Whipple wagon” that Modern Masters helped build for Alex (Legit Street Cars). They are still working on the design but told me they would be happy to make me one so pretty excited!
Need to find time to install my BlueTooth upgrade for the factory head unit along with doing some repairs to the seat controls on the door panels.
Just read through this entire thread. Great work so far and a very similar story with my W220 S55. Kinda fell into my lap around August of last year, and have been throwing parts at it left and right like yourself. (not so much the Whipple as that would be a spendy upgrade for me at this time, but would love to go the same route.) Check out "Joe P's S55 build thread" on the W220 page when you get a chance, i'm also in philadelphia so not too far from you in B-more.
I wish there were more Mercedes/AMG meet ups in our area. its been forever since i was out to a cars and coffee or a Mercedes specific meet.
How are your accumulators on your car, did you ever address them? I just blew a line about a month ago but it is only because the accumulators are shot. (my next repair)
Make sure you tackle those asap but i'm sure you're aware.
Great thread so far, keep up the good work and continue to keep it updated.
Just read through this entire thread. Great work so far and a very similar story with my W220 S55. Kinda fell into my lap around August of last year, and have been throwing parts at it left and right like yourself. (not so much the Whipple as that would be a spendy upgrade for me at this time, but would love to go the same route.) Check out "Joe P's S55 build thread" on the W220 page when you get a chance, i'm also in philadelphia so not too far from you in B-more.
I wish there were more Mercedes/AMG meet ups in our area. its been forever since i was out to a cars and coffee or a Mercedes specific meet.
How are your accumulators on your car, did you ever address them? I just blew a line about a month ago but it is only because the accumulators are shot. (my next repair)
Make sure you tackle those asap but i'm sure you're aware.
Great thread so far, keep up the good work and continue to keep it updated.
- Joe
Hey Joe!
Congrats on your S55! Love it when a fun project finds its way to its proper home where it will be loved!
Any idea what caused your ABC line to burst? I've got accumulators waiting to be installed. Was hoping to purchase a set of 4 ABC shocks/struts to install at the same time but the one front assembly has been out of stock for a while. Im not buying Arnotts since Ive heard of some nightmares so I'll continue to hurry up and wait I guess. I want to rebuild the valve blocks also while Im in there. Hoping to tackle this in June/July of this year.
I'm down to drive to Philly for a meet! Ever been to the Simeone Museum?? A ton of cool cars up there.
Also, theres a big Mercedes gathering at the Pittsburgh Grand Prix every year. You should plan to attend. Not sure i'll make it this year but it was a blast last year!
Welp, Really glad PHILLYCLSJOE chimed in on this thread. I found his build thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/s55-amg-s...ld-thread.html. As described in his thread, I too have been noticing a sharp "DING" when going over bumps. Turns out thats an early warning for Accumulator failure.... Looks like my CL is parked for the time being until I can swap out the accumulators.
Some links from Joe's thread that could save the day down the road
Welp, Really glad PHILLYCLSJOE chimed in on this thread. I found his build thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/s55-amg-s...ld-thread.html. As described in his thread, I too have been noticing a sharp "DING" when going over bumps. Turns out thats an early warning for Accumulator failure.... Looks like my CL is parked for the time being until I can swap out the accumulators.
Some links from Joe's thread that could save the day down the road
Print out that ABC guide and keep it on hand. It is the Bible of the ABC suspension. I'm very glad one of the "Old timers" sent that to me. If you follow those early warnings outlined in that guide, you will (almost) Never have an issue with your ABC.
It's one of the greatest suspicion systems ever designed IMHO.
I passed 140K on the CL55 and I couldnt be happier.
I've been following a gentleman on Instagram that goes by "Tyler Holdgate" and he seems to work on these cars on the west coast. I've bought some parts off of him recently! He sold me a set of seat controls for the doors that have all the clips intact. The wood doesnt match but i'm eventually looking to get the interior trim converted to Carbon Fiber by www.ocarbon.com/.
Tyler also hooked me up with a set of rebuilt ABC Valve Bodies for a VERY reasonable price. Anyone that needs parts, feel free to PM me and i'll put you in touch with him if you cant find him on IG.
Debating on going with a Trunk Tank from VRP for when the Whipple goes on... seems like a complex install and im not sure i'll need it as I dont plan on drag racing but still chatting with the guys at Modern Masters about the final setup.
1. the wood trim is being removed and sent to OCarbon https://ocarbon.com to be redone in CF.
I didnt realize that to remove the door trim and rear panel trim, those pieces have to be removed completely from the car. I found used trim on Ebay that I bought and will send out for the conversion.
2. I found a VRP Intake for $200 so I snapped it up. Also found a Renntech CF locally. May try fitting it or keep it as wall art lol
need to see how im going to connect the valve cover vent tube to the VRP intake. The Renntech intake has a provision to this, the VRP does not.
3. I booked an install date for my Whipple install with Modern Masters!!! Will be dropping the car off the first week in May.
Waiting to take delivery of my wife’s GLS580 before I take this thing up for the upgrade.
looking forward to wrapping up some pending maintenance in the meantime!
Great stuff! Looking forward to seeing how the carbon trim turns out, I would love to do the same on my CLK.
I have been following along on MM youtube channel and those guys are awesome, they really know their stuff. You're in good hands and that whipple will be a very nice upgrade.
If you decide you're not going to use the Renntech airbox and would consider letting it go, let me know. it would be perfect for my s55 and I've been looking for one for a while. I could swing down for a meet up and grab it.
All good stuff so far, looking forward to more updates.
05-19-2023, 10:06 PM
